If your CD/DVD drive takes more than a minute to recognise a disk, or your burner is starting to fail when you create discs, you need to take action.

Fixing a dirty lens

Clean the lens using a lens‑cleaning disc: place it into the drive, and play it through, following the instructions provided. If this does not improve matters, you probably need to replace the unit.

Replacing a CD or DVD drive in a desktop computer

Illustration: Guy Warley Graphic

Turn the computer off. Remove the sides of your PC by taking out the screws at the back of the case and sliding the sides backwards (illustration A).

The CD/DVD drive will either be held in place by four screws or rail mounted (B). If it is the former, remove the screws. If it is the latter, remove the front of the case by pulling the bottom of the front panel away. There may be plastic clips visible on the inside of the case, holding the front on. If so, unclip them as you pull.

There will be two or three cables poking out of the back of the CD/DVD drive. Remember their positions (take a photo or notes if necessary), and pull gently to remove them. If they will not come out, check that there are no clips or blobs of glue holding them in place. Clips should be unclipped, and glue can be removed by prying gently with fingernails or the tip of a slot‑head screwdriver.

Slide the drive forwards out of the case. If it is rail mounted, there may be metal clips on the front that need to be depressed before the drive will move.

Look at the back of the drive to find out which sort of drive you need to buy. If there is a long socket with 20 pairs of pins and a smaller socket with four large pins, the drive is an IDE drive. If the drive has two smaller, L-shaped plastic connectors, it is an SATA.

Slide the replacement drive into the case and reconnect the cables. The cables should be refitted as they were when you removed the faulty drive.

If the drive is rail mounted, transfer the rails on to the new drive before fitting. They should unclip or unscrew from the old drive and can be fitted to the new drive in the same position. Replace the screws in the side of the drive and replace the front of the case if necessary. Slide the sides of the case back into position and replacing the screws.